How lucky/smart are we?

[reigning premier]

I personally can't think of a team that has blooded as many young players in such a short period with such success.

Thinking about it;

Moore
Jack
Barlow
Bird

Even the guys that we bagged last year are now coming good;

McVeigh
Bevan

In the wings;

Schmidt
Laidlaw
White Vezppremi

That's some serous talent being injected in one year. Throw in Mattner and we're looking very new and sharp...

I'm one happy Swans supporter ATM....

[Bleed Red Blood]

You mustn't be very good at thinking.

Four players? Bird being the only first year player. A couple of players getting kudos for not being shocking that have been around five years. And some names thrown in that may or may not make it. I'd pity the clubs that have been 'rebuilding' if you can't think they're better in this regard than us.

Thinking about it;

Roughead
Franklin
Lewis
Rioli
Ellis
Birchall

Even the guys that we bagged last year are now coming good;

Gilham
Osborne
Boyle

In the wings;

Muston
Bailey
Thorp
Dowler
McGlynn

That's some serous talent being injected in one year. Throw in Dew and they're looking very new and sharp...

[Xie Shan]

That's some serous talent being injected in one year.

One year? Please! I think you're forgetting how awful they were prior to 2007 while that 'serious talent' was developing. Yes, they're looking pretty sharp now, thanks largely to the draft picks they collected during their time at the bottom. It'll probably pay off for them, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if by season's end we finished ahead of them. The fact that the OP isn't very good at thinking is irrelevant.

[hammo]

RP's point is that the Swans have been winning while the Hawks were very bad for a number of years as they collected draft picks and injected youth. The same applies to Carlton, Bulldogs when they were down etc.

If one thing is for certain, the so-called experts in Melbourne who thought we had no juniors and a list that was too old have been put in their place.

Should Sydney make a grand final in the next couple of years with this squad then it will give food for thought to other teams as to how they rebuild.

[Xie Shan]

One thing the 'draft your way to success' clubs like Hawthorn have over us is their recruiting of younger KPPs - for some reason Roos doesn't seem to like using the draft to recruit young talls. It *might* pay off if the likes of Murphy and Orreal come up, but so far, you'd have to say our juniors are alright. *If* we make a GF in the next 2 years then yes, it will be a credit to Roos and the recruiting staff.

[hammo]

One thing the 'draft your way to success' clubs like Hawthorn have over us is their recruiting of younger KPPs - for some reason Roos doesn't seem to like using the draft to recruit young talls. It *might* pay off if the likes of Murphy and Orreal come up, but so far, you'd have to say our juniors are alright. *If* we make a GF in the next 2 years then yes, it will be a credit to Roos and the recruiting staff.

I agree with what you say. I think the main reason is that there is a higher success rate in drafting midfielders than talls, particularly as you get later in the draft. I'm sure if we had a top 3 pick we might go for a tall. But I am sure there is a well developed scientific theory inside the club why we only go after talls with our late picks, via the rookie draft or through a trade.

[liz]

To open my other eye for a moment, Collingwood probably led the way last year, reaching a PF (and taking Geelong all the way) with a team based around 2nd year players like Pendlebury, Cloke and Thomas, but with some total newbies thrown in as well, like Goldsack.

[CJK]

zomg swasn are teh d00med

no kidz lolz

And so on and so forth

[reigning premier]

RP's point is that the Swans have been winning while the Hawks were very bad for a number of years as they collected draft picks and injected youth. The same applies to Carlton, Bulldogs when they were down etc.

If one thing is for certain, the so-called experts in Melbourne who thought we had no juniors and a list that was too old have been put in their place.

Should Sydney make a grand final in the next couple of years with this squad then it will give food for thought to other teams as to how they rebuild.

That and the fact that excepting maybe Malceski, we haven't really introduced any new blood to the team since 05/06. We've held back on a lot of these guys when everyone here was screaming for us to play them. So the question remains;

Has Roos & the selection committee, in a stroke of genius, delibrately decided to hold back the these young "potentials" with a view to letting them mature and progress naturally, instead of just dumping them in the mix and burning them out???

Carlton and Hawthorn have all been forced to throw their younger players on the field, we haven't. Now was that delibrate? Or just luck?

Either way, it seems to be working.

[reigning premier]

You mustn't be very good at thinking.

Four players? Bird being the only first year player. A couple of players getting kudos for not being shocking that have been around five years. And some names thrown in that may or may not make it. I'd pity the clubs that have been 'rebuilding' if you can't think they're better in this regard than us.

Thinking about it;

Roughead
Franklin
Lewis
Rioli
Ellis
Birchall

Even the guys that we bagged last year are now coming good;

Gilham
Osborne
Boyle

In the wings;

Muston
Bailey
Thorp
Dowler
McGlynn

That's some serous talent being injected in one year. Throw in Dew and they're looking very new and sharp...

And you mustn't be very good at comparisons!

[NMWBloods]

That and the fact that excepting maybe Malceski, we haven't really introduced any new blood to the team since 05/06. We've held back on a lot of these guys when everyone here was screaming for us to play them. So the question remains;

Has Roos & the selection committee, in a stroke of genius, delibrately decided to hold back the these young "potentials" with a view to letting them mature and progress naturally, instead of just dumping them in the mix and burning them out???

Carlton and Hawthorn have all been forced to throw their younger players on the field, we haven't. Now was that delibrate? Or just luck?

Either way, it seems to be working.

This is the strategy of the past when young players would be in reserves for a few years before joining the senior team. It was a key aspect of Hawthorn's success in the 1980s. How much in this case has been pre-planned and how much it has been a case of luck because of lack of injuries and 'loyalty' to premiership players is hard to say.

[liz]

This is the strategy of the past when young players would be in reserves for a few years before joining the senior team. It was a key aspect of Hawthorn's success in the 1980s. How much in this case has been pre-planned and how much it has been a case of luck because of lack of injuries and 'loyalty' to premiership players is hard to say.

Bit of that, but we also need to look at where the new injections have come from. Jack and Barlow are both off the rookie list and have made huge strides in the two and a bit years they've been on the list. Both got small chances last year, but the reason they're making an impact now is because they're ready to make an impact now.

Indeed, a lot of the younger players who either just broken into the team or look to be on the brink have come from the lower reaches of the draft, including the rookie draft, and hence it is not unreasonable to expect them to take a bit longer. The first and second round picks we have earned over recent years are running around in the guise of Darren Jolly, Teddy Richards and Spida Everitt.

Moore's not as clear cut since he was probably a lot further developed when he arrived at the club. But he's had a series of small injuries that have set him back each time he looked like he might be about to break through.

[Nico]

And they tell me there is a bloke in the 2's by the name of Currie who CAN play.

[Donners]

The youth of the Swans isn't even remarkable compared to the league standard, let alone any other examples in recent memory. At best, there are a handful of fairly capable players there.

[ScottH]

And they tell me there is a bloke in the 2's by the name of Currie who CAN play.

Injured himself last week, unfortunately.